DEEP RUN — South Lenoir teetered on breaking into single digits throughout the third quarter.

But as momentum built for the Blue Devils inside Munn Gymnasium on Monday night, it just as quickly vanished, which gave Kinston its fifth-straight conference victory. The Vikings won, 63-42, to maintain its dominance in the newly-formed Eastern Carolina 2A conference.

The loss made South Lenoir (12-4 overall, 2-3 EC2A) the only conference team to lose at home since league play began.

“The end of the third quarter really hurt us,” Blue Devils coach Jeremy Barnett said. “We had them at 10, with a chance at eight, and our crowd really believed we had a chance.”

As the final minute of the period wound down, SL trailed, 43-33. Blue Devils’ Dominic Williams drove to the right side of the lane and hoisted a tear drop. As the shot fell through the net, an official’s whistle blew.

With a blocking foul, the Blue Devils had the chance to cut the lead back to seven entering the final frame. But the charge wiped the basket from the scoreboard and swung the momentum back in the Vikings’ favor for good.

“We had one charge taken tonight, but we left a lot out there,” Vikings coach Perry Tyndall said. “When you’re willing to sacrifice your body in those settings, it’s a foul on them, it’s a change of possession and it sparks a big run.”

Immediately following the SL turnover, Kinston’s Tiquan Canady answered with a drive to the basket to stretch the lead to 12. As the last second expired in the third, Brandon Ingram intercepted a Blue Devils’ pass and his 3-pointer from the right wing was pure as Kinston increased its lead to 14 to start the final quarter.

The Vikings continued the run, scoring 16 unanswered points to put the game out of contention.

Kinston (13-4, 5-0) outrebounded SL, 32-28, but was hindered by the bodies the Blue Devils threw at them. Six rebounds were the most by a single player on Kinston’s roster.

Jaquan Wooten had 14 for the Blue Devils.

“When we get zoned, it naturally packs things in for us,” Tyndall said. “Jaquan is a great player, and they did a good job of using their bodies and keeping us from getting second-chance opportunities.”

Perhaps the surprise performance of the night was from Kinston’s Mykel Hart, who finished the game with 20 points and four steals to go along with his team-high six rebounds.

“I think a lot of it fed off of his defensive effort,” Tyndall said of Hart. “We’re just fortunate he got a lot of steals right under the basket. That’s the beauty about us: Darnell (Dunn) gets into foul trouble and (Hart) steps up for us.”

Page 2 of 5 - Ingram finished with 19 points for the Vikings, along with five blocks.

Jonte Midgette added 10 for the Blue Devils.

Girls’ game:

To call Kinston one of the most well-rounded girls’ basketball teams in the state wouldn’t be an understatement to the defending NCHSAA 2A state champions.

On Monday night, the Vikings had their way with cross-county rival South Lenoir, doubling up the Blue Devils, 66-33, to improve to 5-0 halfway through the EC2A schedule.

The Vikings jumped out to an early 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never threatened by the overmatched Blue Devils. And once again, each of Kinston’s eight players recorded at least a point in the winning effort.

“Since we’ve been here, we’ve been so unselfish,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said of his team’s hunger to distribute the ball. “Sometimes it is to a fault, but that’s good basketball. (We) are passing up good shots for great shots.”

While Kinston dominated the games, Blue Devils coach Donald Mooring was very pleased with his team’s effort. South Lenoir’s only other conference loss was to Goldsboro during the first game of the EC2A season.

“We grew up tonight,” Mooring said. “Kinston is the state champion, and Coach Q is going to have another run at that this year. But we didn’t play scared. … Each night you go on that floor, (we have) to go just as hard as we can go.”

Kinston was led by Brittany Drumgoole and Shika Mason with 14 points apiece. Lydia Rivers and Takerian Harper had 12 and 10, respectively, for the Vikings.

Meosha Franklin had nine for the Blue Devils, while Demeyia Adams and Marquia Suddeth each added eight.

Both Kinston and South Lenoir are set to play games Friday night, however, weather delays could impact those tipoffs. South Lenoir is scheduled to play Goldsboro, the only other conference team to defeat the Blue Devils this year.

“When you play Goldsboro, that’s where you’re going to have to beat them, in the post,” Mooring said. “(Kinston’s) Lydia Rivers is one of the best post players in the state and tonight our girl’s found out that can do that.”